Strong storms with hail, heavy rain possible this week

Wednesday

This week’s cold front is expected to usher in pleasantly cool and dry air by the end of the week, but it comes with a price tag.

Ahead of the front, thunderstorms are in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday along with the possibility of small hail, lightning, wind gusts over 50 mph and heavy rain.

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has put the entire State of Florida in a Marginal Risk category for severe weather both days.

"Wednesday looks to be the stormiest day of the week with the best rain chances likely into the afternoon and evening as we see a combination of limited daytime heating and the actual front move into the area," National Weather Service forecasters said in their morning analysis in Miami.

Dry conditions take hold once again by Thursday afternoon, they said. Nighttime temperatures will likely be about 5 degrees below normal into the weekend. That means mid-60s Thursday and Friday night in Palm Beach, low 60s in Wellington and mid-50s west of Lake Okeechobee.

RAINFALL: NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center is suggesting that about an inch of rain will fall in the Palm Beach area through Thursday, with heavier amounts approaching 2.5 inches in Central Florida.

Weather Underground is calling for 0.85 of an inch in Palm Beach Tuesday through Wednesday night, while AccuWeather is predicting about a half inch.

South Florida can use the rain — minus the severe weather — after an exceptionally dry April. Here’s how the month finished up across the region:

South Florida had a major precipitation shortfall in April. (Credit: NWS-Miami)

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SPEEDING UP: Ice in coastal Greenland is melting at an accelerated rate as water drains from the surface and underneath glaciers, a new study by Dartmouth says.

The study, published in the journal Annals of Glaciology, found that as fresh meltwater runs off, saltwater moves in, causing melting from below the ice.

"Our results show meltwater from these glaciers is playing a larger role in glacier stability than previously thought," said lead author Kristin Schild, a doctoral student in Dartmouth’s Department of Earth Sciences.